


hearts & minds

by TripsH



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: 25 Sentences, Canon Era, Fluff, M/M, Non-Chronological, Non-Linear Narrative, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 17:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11741787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TripsH/pseuds/TripsH
Summary: 12. BelongThere’s something comforting about how no matter how far apart they are, no matter where life and, now, the war takes them, they always find their way back to each other’s sides—like that’s right where they’re supposed to be.





	hearts & minds

**Author's Note:**

> so fun story is that i majored in history in college and wrote my senior capstone project on the culper spy ring/importance of intelligence gathering in the american revolution, and people have been telling me to watch turn for a while but i only just did it recently. i watched the entire series within two and a half weeks and now... here we are??? 
> 
> i have a bigger tallster fic planned/in the works for when i have more free time to write it, but for now i really just wanted to get this out as a warm-up/practice sort of thing. i Adore this ship and have had so many Feelings, so this is just my tiny contribution on account of that. i hope you enjoy this !!

 

 

 

  1. Easy



Whether it was back in their childhoods spent in Setauket or now here at camp, those around them are never too surprised to see Ben and Caleb side by side, sitting shoulder to shoulder by the fire.

 

  1. Hands



Caleb’s hands are rough by design, from years on a boat and now with a musket or tomahawk, but they never fail to be gentle—purposeful—whenever they reach for Ben.

 

  1. Return



They don’t ever explicitly say _‘come home’_ to each other; it’s implicit, stated through their eyes, through the way their hands linger on each other in a parting touch.

 

  1. Shining



Ben’s always known that there’s no one as bright as Caleb—no one who shines so much, who can make his heart feel so full.

 

  1. Collide



           

“Caleb, careful,” Ben chides out of habit more than he actually means it when Caleb sees him, crashes into him with a hug, and he may be aching and bleeding through the bandages they’d wrapped around where he’d been shot by Robert Rogers, but he doesn’t care because this—right here, in Caleb’s arms, _safe_ —is the best he’s felt in hours.

 

  1. Fingertips



The thing is, their fingertips have accidentally brushed countless times without much fuss—it’s something as natural and easy and part of them as could be—which is why Ben thinks it’s both funny and inopportune that dwelling on it a little too much, _wanting_ that touch more than ever before is the thing that makes his heart race.

 

  1. Rest



The ‘argument’ goes like this: Caleb pulls Ben away from his work, pushes his shoulder to get him to lie back in bed, insists he sleeps, while Ben counters with a hand wrapped around Caleb's wrist, a sleepy smile, a simple, yet self-indulgent request as Caleb tries to leave him to rest, _“Stay.”_

 

  1. Coming home



Caleb’s teasing response when Ben says “Welcome back,” is to say, “You mean _you’re_ the only welcome party I get?” as he pulls Ben into a tight hug, fingers curled in his coat, head resting against Ben’s shoulder and laughter loud as Ben pinches his side and feigns anger, thoughts telling him _this is home._

 

  1. Whispered



When they were young, Caleb would spend many nights over at the Tallmadge household, sharing a bed with Ben, and they’d whisper and laugh late into the night, trying to hide their childish giggles and joking behind their hands and under the blankets, thinking they’d succeeded until Sam would roll over in his bed and tell them kindly to _‘please go to sleep.’_

  1. Cold



“Never leavin’,” Caleb says from where he’s pressed himself flush against Ben’s side near the fire, a little too close for prying eyes, but no one’s really paying attention to them so it’s alright, “it’s cold, and you’re warm.”

 

  1. Funeral



Ben’s mother dies when he’s fourteen, and his days after are shaky and unsteady, but Caleb sticks close by—fit against his side, hand pliant and there whenever Ben needs it.

 

  1. Belong



There’s something comforting about how no matter how far apart they are, no matter where life and, now, the war takes them, they always find their way back to each other’s sides—like that’s right where they’re supposed to be.

 

  1. Plead



“C’mon Benny, please wake up.” Caleb’s voice cracks, just a little, a strangled sort of sound as he slides a hand down Ben’s cheek, then says, stronger, “You’re not dyin’ on me. _Wake up_.”

 

  1. Cry



“You’re human, Benny. You can cry, you know,” Caleb says, hand resting on Ben’s knee as they sit on his bed with their shoulders pressed together, “Lord knows you had no problem doing it as a kid,” and his words make Ben choke out a cross between a laugh and a strangled sob, as he briefly wonders how Caleb can do that—how he can always lift any weight off Ben’s shoulders and make him feel more at ease with just a few words, just a simple touch. 

 

  1. Serenity



“You can’t stay in my bed all day, Brewster. Wake up.” But after months of not seeing each other due to Ben being at Yale and Caleb out at sea, the calm, early morning sunlight, the way Caleb sleepily wraps his arms around Ben’s waist to yank him back into bed, the way his hand tangles in Ben’s hair when he gives in and rolls over to face him seem good enough reasons to stay.

 

  1. Kneel



“Hey,” Ben kneels in front of him, rests his hand against Caleb’s cheek, “you’re still with me, right?”, and he knows his answer before Ben’s even asked— _always._  

 

  1. Steady



“Guilt doesn’t look good on you, Tallboy” dismisses the repeated apologies Ben’s murmured into the crook of Caleb’s neck, and Caleb’s gentle smile accompanied by the hands on Ben’s shoulders once they’ve broken their embrace to stand at arm’s length instead are a steady insistence of forgiveness.

 

  1. Victory



Their eyes meet as they’re raising their flag at Stony Point and while the smiles they share may be quick, it’s no different than normal, doesn’t lack the way Caleb looks at him—like he’s the only person here, like’s he’s light, like he’s _everything_ —and maybe that makes victory just a little sweeter.

 

  1. Touch



Touch is something that’s always existed between them—a constant, freely given and taken without any hesitation—but the thought of closing the small distance between them to kiss Caleb is more terrifying than it should be, even when it’s all Ben wants to do.

 

  1. Finally



“What’re you gonna do, Tallboy?” Caleb leans closer, like he’s daring Ben to make a move, like he _wants_ him to, and _god_ Ben wants this too, so he takes a chance, kisses Caleb like he’s saying ‘ _what I should have done a long time ago.’_

 

  1. Promise



_‘Don’t leave,’_ he wants to say aloud, wants to let those words cut through the silence of the night as they sit side by side beneath the stars, _‘People always leave, promise you won’t leave.’_

 

  1. Soothe



The squeeze to his hand, the slight pause before their fingers tangle together, around each other seems to carry more weight than the gesture normally would—‘ _I’m not going anywhere.’_  

 

  1. Obvious



Anna takes one look at them together when she arrives in camp, and knows, her lips quirking into a smile as she doesn’t ask when, but instead says, “It’s about time you two caught up with the rest of us and noticed how you look at each other.”

 

  1. Breathe



“Morning,” Caleb breathes against the back of Ben’s neck when they wake, arms wrapped around his waist as he leans forward to press his lips against Ben’s shoulder.

 

  1. Tender



“Morning,” Ben whispers once he turns over to look at Caleb, and smiles as their legs tangle together beneath the blankets—there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

 

 

 


End file.
